    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book III)]
    [October 1, 2004]
    [Pages 2314-2323]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks in Manchester, New Hampshire
    October 1, 2004

        The President. Thanks for coming. I appreciate you all coming.
    Thanks. It's great to be back in the great State of New Hampshire.

    [[Page 2315]]

        So guess what happened? We pulled up in our entourage, and I opened
    the door. I come bounding in the tent, and Mother's there checking up on me. They said--you know,
    sometimes they say I get a little too blunt, reminds me of the time a
    woman in Texas said, ``Well, you got your daddy's eyes and your mother's mouth.'' [Laughter] I love you,
    Mom. Thanks for coming.
        I'm keeping really good company up here on the stage. First, I'm
    proud to be standing with your great United States Senator, Judd
    Gregg. He's as solid as the granite in this
    State. I know you're going to send him back for 6 more years.
        And I'm proud to be in New Hampshire with John McCain. What a fine American he is and a good friend. He told me
    a little something about New Hampshire politics--in case you forgot.
    [Laughter] I didn't. I picked up on the lessons and carried the State of
    New Hampshire in 2000, and with your help, we'll carry it again in 2004.
        We had a great debate last night. It highlighted some fundamental
    differences between my opponent and me,
    differences I believe are crucial to our Nation's national security.
    First of all, there's a big difference when it comes to supporting our
    troops in harm's way. When America puts our troops in combat, I believe
    they deserve the best training, the best equipment, the full support of
    our Government. Last night my opponent said our troops deserve better.
    They certainly deserve better than they got from Senator Kerry when he
    voted to send them to war, then voting--voted against funding our troops
    in combat.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. You may remember his quote when they asked him about his vote. He said, ``Well, I actually did vote
    for the $87 billion, right before I voted against it.'' [Laughter] Not a
    lot of people in New Hampshire talk that way. Last night he said he had
    made a mistake in how he talked about that vote. I don't know if you
    remember that part of the debate or not. I certainly do. But the mistake
    wasn't what Senator Kerry said. The mistake was what Senator Kerry did.
        During the course of this campaign, they kept asking him to explain the vote. He said the famous quote. Then he
    went on and said he was proud of his vote. He said, ``The whole thing
    was a complicated matter.'' And earlier this week he gave yet another
    explanation of his vote. He said, ``Well, it was a protest vote.''
    [Laughter] Exactly what he said, ``protest vote.''
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. When we put American troops in harm's way, they
    certainly deserve better than to have a candidate for President use them
    as a protest.
        Last night was very revealing. He
    continued his pattern of confusing contradictions. After voting for the
    war, after saying my decision to remove Saddam Hussein from power was the right decision, he now said it was
    all a mistake. But asked a logical question, ``Does that mean our troops
    are dying for a mistake?'' He said, ``No.'' You can't have it both ways.
    You can't say it's a mistake and not a mistake. You can't be for getting
    rid of Saddam Hussein when things look good and against it when times
    are difficult. You can't claim terrorists are pouring across the border
    into Iraq yet, at the same time, try to claim that Iraq is somehow a
    diversion from the war on terror. The American President must speak
    clearly, and when he speaks, must mean what he says.
        The crucial difference between my opponent
    and me is the most important question for voters in this election, and
    that is: Who can lead this war against terror to victory? And here my
    opponent has a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of this war
    against terror, and he has no plan to win in Iraq. The cornerstone of
    Senator Kerry's plan for Iraq is to convene a summit. That's what he
    said. Now, look, I've been to a lot of summits. [Laughter] Since I've
    been your President, I've been honored to be at summits throughout

    [[Page 2316]]

    the world. I've never been to a meeting that has deposed a tyrant or
    brought a terrorist to justice. The way to defeat the terrorists is to
    stay on the offense and bring them to justice.
        My opponent last night claims he can work
    with our allies. Yet he said those who are standing with us are not a
    part of a genuine coalition.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. He earlier called them a
    ``coalition of the coerced and bribed'' and dismissed their sacrifices
    as ``window dressings.''
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. See, you cannot lead by pushing away the allies who
    are already with us, who are sacrificing along with our soldiers. You
    can't expect any support for a cause you have called a ``mistake,'' a
    ``grand diversion,'' or ``the wrong war at the wrong time.'' As I said
    last night, I've been meeting with these leaders around the world.
    Imagine walking into a room, and say, ``Get your sons to sacrifice and
    your daughters to sacrifice for the wrong war at the wrong place at the
    wrong time.'' Imagine. [Laughter] The way to lead this coalition is not
    to be disdainful or dismissive. The way to lead this coalition to
    victory is to be clear about our thinking, grateful for their
    sacrifices, and resolute in our determination to achieve victory.
        Let me say one other thing, one more thing I want to share with you
    about last night's debate. Perhaps it was the most disturbing aspect of
    the debate. Senator Kerry said that America
    has to pass some sort of ``global test''----
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. ----before we can use our troops to defend ourselves.
    Think about that. He wants our national
    security decisions subject to the approval of a foreign government.
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. Listen, I'll continue to work with our allies. I'll
    work with the international community, but I will never submit America's
    national security to an international test. The President's job is not
    to take an international poll. The President's job is to defend the
    United States of America.
        Audience members. U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
        The President. I've come for more reasons than just to talk about
    last night's debate and to see my mother.
    [Laughter] I have come back to New Hampshire to ask for your vote, and I
    am here to ask for your help. I ask you to register your friends and
    neighbors. I ask you, then, to head them to the polls come the voting
    time. And as you do so, remind them if they want a safer America, a
    stronger America, and a better America, to put me and Dick
    Cheney back in office.
        I'm glad my mother is here, but I really
    wish Laura were here. What a great First Lady. You know, when I asked
    her to marry me, she said, ``Fine, just so long as I never have to give
    a political speech.'' [Laughter] I said, ``Okay, you'll never have to
    give one.'' [Laughter] Fortunately, she didn't hold me to that promise.
    In New York, at our convention, America got to see a compassionate,
    strong, fine First Lady in Laura Bush.
        And I'm proud--I'm proud I'm running with Dick Cheney. He's a fine man. I concede, he doesn't have the waviest
    hair in the race. [Laughter] I didn't pick him because of his hair. I
    picked him because of his experience, his judgment, and because he can
    get the job done for the American people.
        I want to sing the praises of your other United States Senator, John
    Sununu. You've got two really fine
    Senators in Judd and John, and I'm proud to work
    with them. They're kind of independent sometimes--[laughter]--just like
    the people of New Hampshire.
        I appreciate your Governor, Craig Benson. I hope you put him back into office. Thanks for coming,
    Craig. I appreciate you

    [[Page 2317]]

    being here, Craig. I'm proud of Congressman Jeb Bradley's work in the United States Congress, a fine Member of the
    House of Representatives. I want to thank Ted Gatsas and his wife, Cassandra. I
    want to thank Brian Golden, who's a
    Democrats for Bush member from Massachusetts. I am honored you're here,
    Brian. Thank you for coming.
        I want to thank all the other State and local officials. But most
    importantly, I want to thank the grassroots activists and those who are
    doing the hard work, getting ready to turn out the vote come November.
        I appreciate the Oak Ridge Boys who are here with us
    today. I'm proud to call them friends. And I want to thank Kaleigh
    Cronin, the student from Manchester Central
    High, who performed the National Anthem. I want to thank Manchester
    Central High School Band for being here today. I'll try to keep my
    speech short so you can get home and do your homework. [Laughter]
        Listen, I'm looking forward to this campaign. I like coming here to
    New Hampshire, and I'm coming back. I want to tell the people where I
    stand, what I believe, and where I'll lead this country for the next 4
    years.
        I believe every child can learn and every school must teach. That's
    what I believe. I went to Washington to challenge the soft bigotry of
    low expectations. I didn't like the practice of having such low
    expectations that we would shuffle some children through the schools,
    grade after grade, year after year, without teaching them the basics. I
    know we can do better in America. So we changed the law to measure
    early, so we can solve problems. We believe in local control of schools.
    We're closing the achievement gap in America, and we're not going to go
    back to the old days of failed policy.
        I believe we have a moral responsibility to honor our seniors with
    good health care. See, I went to Washington to fix problems. I saw a
    problem in Medicare. For example, Medicare would pay nearly $100,000 for
    heart surgery but not one dime for the prescription drugs that might
    prevent the heart surgery from being needed in the first place. That
    wasn't fair to our seniors, and it wasn't fair to the taxpayers. We
    worked with Republicans and Democrats to modernize Medicare. Seniors
    will get prescription drug coverage in 2006, and we're not going back to
    the old days.
        I believe in the energy and innovation and the spirit of America's
    workers, small-business owners, and farmers and ranchers. That's why we
    unleashed that energy with the largest tax relief in a generation.
        I want you to remind your friends and neighbors what this economy
    has been through. The stock market was heading down before Dick
    Cheney and I showed up in Washington. Then we
    had a recession just as soon as we showed up. And then we had some
    corporate scandals, which affected our economy. We passed tough laws.
    We've made it abundantly clear we will not tolerate dishonesty in the
    boardrooms of America. And then the attacks came, of September the 11th,
    and that affected our economy.
        But because we acted, our economy is growing at rates as fast as any
    in nearly 20 years. The national unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, which
    is lower than the average of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The
    unemployment rate in the State of New Hampshire is 3.7 percent.
        I believe the most solemn duty of the American President is to
    protect the American people. If America shows uncertainty and weakness
    in this decade, the world will drift toward tragedy. This will not
    happen on my watch.
        Audience members. Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
        The President. I am running for President with a clear and positive
    plan to build a safer America, a safer world, and a more hopeful
    America. I am running with a compassionate conservative philosophy that
    Government should help people improve

    [[Page 2318]]

    their lives, not try to run their lives. I believe this Nation wants
    steady, consistent, principled leadership and that is why, with your
    help, we'll carry New Hampshire again and win a great victory in
    November.
        But I understand the world in which we're living is changing. It
    wasn't all that long ago that a person in the workplace would have one
    job and one career, one pension plan, one retirement system, and that
    person was usually a man. The workplace has changed. Think about it.
    People are changing jobs. People are changing careers. Women are working
    inside the house and outside the house in America today. And yet, the
    fundamental systems of our Government, the Tax Code, the pension plans,
    health coverage, and worker training, were designed for the world of
    yesterday, not tomorrow. I'm running to transform these systems so that
    all citizens are equipped, prepared, and truly free to be able to make
    your own choices and pursue your own dreams.
        A hopeful country is one that has a growing economy. In order to
    keep jobs here in America, America must be the best place in the world
    to do business. If you want jobs here, this has got to be the best place
    in the world to risk capital. That means less regulations. That means
    legal reform to stop the frivolous lawsuits that are plaguing our
    employers.
        We want to keep this economy growing and have jobs here in America,
    Congress needs to pass my energy plan. It's a plan that encourages
    conservation. It's a plan that spends money to make sure we do a better
    job with renewables like ethanol and biodiesel. It's a plan that uses
    technology to burn coal in clean ways. It's a plan that uses technology
    to explore for natural gas in environmentally friendly ways. It is a
    plan that recognizes this fact: To keep this economy growing, we must be
    less dependent on foreign sources of energy.
        In order to keep jobs here in America, we must open up markets to
    U.S. products. We've opened up our markets for goods from overseas for a
    reason. It's good for our consumers. Think about this. If you've got
    more products to choose from, you're likely to get that which you want
    at a better price. That's how the market works. So rather than falling
    prey to economic isolationism, I'm saying to countries like China and
    elsewhere, ``You treat us the way we treat you.'' I say that because I
    know when the rules are fair, we can compete with anybody, anytime,
    anywhere in the world.
        Finally, to make sure this economy continues to grow, we've got to
    be wise about how we spend your money in Washington, and we've got to
    keep your taxes low. Taxes are an issue in this campaign. I'm running
    against a fellow who lived right south from
    here. [Laughter] He's so far promised $2.2 trillion in new spending.
    That's a lot, even for a Senator from Massachusetts. [Laughter] So they
    said, ``How are you going to pay for it?'' He said, ``That's easy. We're
    going to tax the rich.'' You've heard that before, haven't you?
        Audience members. Yes!
        The President. About every campaign. The problem with that, there's
    some flawed logic. You can't raise enough money by taxing the rich to
    pay for $2.2 trillion in new spending. There's what I would call a tax
    gap. Guess who gets to fill the tax gap?
        Audience member. We do!
        The President. Yes. I'll tell you something else about the rhetoric
    of taxing the rich. The rich hire lawyers and accountants for a reason,
    so they can avoid the bill and stick you with it. The good news is,
    we're not going to let him tax you. We're
    going to win in November.
        Speaking about the Tax Code, it's a complicated mess. It's full of
    special interest loopholes. It's a million pages long. Americans spend 6
    billion hours a year filling out their tax forms.* In order to make sure
    this Tax Code is fair and simple, I'm going to call Republicans and
    Democrats together

    [[Page 2319]]

    to do something about an antiquated Tax Code that needs to be changed.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        *White House correction.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Listen, we'll help our workers gain the skills of the 21st century.
    In a changing economy, sometimes there's a skills gap. Jobs are
    available, but workers don't have the skills necessary to fill the jobs.
    That's why I'm such a strong believer in the community college system. I
    believe--and I know that most new jobs in a changing economy are filled
    by people with at least 2 years of college, yet one in four of our
    students gets there. In our high schools, we'll fund early intervention
    programs to help at-risk students. We'll emphasize math and science.
    Over time, there ought to be a rigorous exam before graduation. By
    raising performance in our high schools and by expanding Pell grants for
    low- and middle-income families, more Americans will start their career
    with a college diploma.
        Let me talk about health care. There is a wide, philosophical divide
    when it comes to health care. Let me see if I can summarize it this way.
    My opponent wants the Government to run the
    health care----
        Audience members. Boo-o-o!
        The President. ----which would lead to high prices and rationing. I
    want you to make the decisions when it comes to health care. I have a
    practical, commonsense way of dealing with health care to make sure it's
    available and affordable. Let me give you some ideas.
        First of all, most of the uninsured work for small businesses. Many
    small businesses are having trouble affording health care. We ought to
    change the law to allow small businesses to pool risk, so they can buy
    insurance at the same discounts big businesses can buy insurance for.
    We'll expand tax-free health savings accounts. We'll give small
    businesses tax credits to pay into health savings accounts for their
    employees. We'll help low-income, uninsured working Americans to afford
    health savings accounts. These are innovative ways to make sure people
    get good health care coverage with catastrophic coverage as well.
        We will expand community health centers to every poor county in
    America so the poor and the indigent can get preventative and primary
    care in places other than emergency rooms of your hospitals. We'll make
    sure poor children are enrolled in our low-income children's programs.
    To make sure health care is available and affordable, we've got to do
    something about these junk lawsuits that are running good docs out of
    practice and running your costs of medicine up. In all we do reform
    health care, we'll make sure the decisions are made by doctors and
    patients, not by bureaucrats in Washington, DC.
        In changing times, ownership helps bring stability to people's
    lives. The homeownership rate in America is at an alltime high during my
    administration. I love that statistic. Think about it. More and more
    people are opening up the door where they live and saying, ``Welcome to
    my home. Welcome to my piece of property.'' Over the next 4 years, we'll
    expand homeownership to every corner of America.
        And I want to implement a part of ownership into the retirement
    system as well. You might remember some of the rhetoric that took place
    in 2000 when I was running. They said, ``If George W. gets elected, he's
    going to take away your Social Security check.'' I don't know if you
    remember that or not. Well, you still got the check; nothing happened.
    What I'm telling you is, is that when I talk about Social Security
    reform, if you're a senior citizen on Social Security, you don't have to
    worry about your check. That's that same old stale rhetoric that they're
    going to put out every year. You'll get your check. Baby boomers like
    me, we'll probably get our checks, because the Social Security trust is
    that solvent.
        But we need to worry about our children and grandchildren when it
    comes to Social Security. I believe younger workers ought to be able to
    take some of their own money and set up a personal savings account to

    [[Page 2320]]

    make sure Social Security fulfills its promise, a personal savings
    account you call your own, a personal savings account the Government can
    never take away.
        Listen, in this world of change, there are some things that won't
    change, the values we try to live by, courage and compassion, reverence
    and integrity. In changing times, we'll support the institutions that
    give our lives direction and purpose, our schools, our families, our
    religious congregations. We stand for a culture of life in which every
    person matters and every being counts. We stand for marriage and family,
    which are the foundations of our society. And we stand for the
    appointment of Federal judges who know the difference between personal
    opinion and the strict interpretation of the law.
        This election will also determine how America responds to continuing
    danger of terrorism. Since 2001--September the 11th, 2001, we have
    fought the terrorists across the Earth, not for pride, not for power,
    but because the lives of our citizens are at stake. Our strategy is
    clear. We're defending the homeland. We'll transform our military. We'll
    keep the All-Volunteer Army an all-volunteer army.
        Audience member. [Inaudible]
        The President. Yes. We'll strengthen the intelligence services.
    We'll stay on the offensive. We'll defeat the terrorists around the
    Earth so we do not have to face them here at home. We'll continue to
    advance liberty in the broader Middle East and throughout the world, and
    we will prevail.
        Our strategy is succeeding. Think about this: Four years ago,
    Afghanistan was the home base of Al Qaida; Pakistan was a transit point
    for terrorists; Saudi Arabia was fertile ground for terrorist
    fundraising; Libya was secretly pursuing nuclear weapons; Iraq was a
    gathering threat; and Al Qaida was largely unchallenged as it planned
    attacks.
        Because we acted, Afghanistan is fighting terror; Pakistan is
    capturing terrorist leaders; Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests;
    Libya is dismantling its weapons programs; the army of a free Iraq is
    fighting terror; and three-quarters of Al Qaida's leadership have been
    brought to justice.
        This progress involved careful diplomacy, clear moral purpose, and
    some tough decisions. The toughest came on Iraq. We knew Saddam
    Hussein's record of aggression and support
    for terror. We knew that. I want you to remember that he harbored Abu
    Nidal, the leader of a terrorist organization that carried out attacks
    in Europe and Asia. We knew he harbored Abu Abbas, who killed American
    Leon Klinghoffer because of his religion. Zarqawi was in and out of Baghdad. He ordered the killing of an
    American citizen from Baghdad. We knew Saddam Hussein's long history of
    pursuing and using weapons of mass destruction. We knew that he would
    hope the world would turn away and not pay attention to him. We also
    knew that we must think differently after September the 11th. This
    country must take threats seriously before they fully materialize. That
    is a lesson we must never forget.
        So I went to the United States Congress. The Congress looked at the
    same intelligence I looked at, remembered the same history I remembered,
    and concluded Saddam Hussein was a threat,
    and voted to authorize the use of force. My opponent looked at the same intelligence I looked at. He concluded
    that Saddam Hussein was a serious threat. He voted yes when it came to
    the authorization of force. He may not want to admit it today.
        Before the Commander in Chief commits troops into harm's way, he
    must try all options, before military options. And so I went to the
    United Nations in hopes that diplomacy would work, in hopes that somehow
    the free world would finally convince Saddam Hussein to listen to the
    demands. The United Nations Security Council debated the issue and voted
    15 to nothing to say to Saddam Hussein,
    ``Disclose, disarm, or face serious consequences.'' I believe that when
    an international body

    [[Page 2321]]

    speaks, it must mean what it says, in order to keep this world peaceful.
    Saddam Hussein ignored the demands yet again.
        Last night my opponent said, ``Well, we
    probably should have''--not probably--``We should have taken more time
    and passed another resolution,'' as if number 18 would have convinced
    him. We sent inspectors in--the U.N. did--they were systematically
    deceived. That's what history shows. My opponent said, ``We should have
    left the inspectors in there.'' Why? I don't know. Maybe Saddam could deceived them even more. The truth was diplomacy
    had failed. And so I now have a choice to make: Do I take the word of a
    madman and forget the lessons of September the 11th, or take action to
    defend this country? Given that choice, I will defend America every
    time.
        We didn't find the stockpiles we thought would be there. We didn't
    find the stockpiles everybody thought would be there. But I want you to
    remember, Saddam still had the capability of making weapons of mass
    destruction. He could have passed that capability onto an enemy, and
    that is a risk we could not have afforded to have taken after September
    the 11th. Knowing what I know today, I would have made the same
    decision. And the world is safer with Saddam Hussein sitting in a prison cell.
        Because we acted to defend our country, 50 million people now live
    in freedom in Afghanistan and Iraq. Remember what it was like in
    Afghanistan some 3 years ago. People were living under the brutal reign
    of the Taliban. These people are--when I talk about ideologues of hate,
    that's what I'm talking about, people just like them. They would not let
    young girls go to school. They'd whip their mothers in the public square
    if they disagreed with their ideology of hate. They executed women in
    sports stadiums. They were barbaric and backwards, and they were
    harboring Al Qaida.
        Today, Afghanistan is an ally in the war on terror, and 10 million
    people, 41 percent of whom are women, have registered to vote in the
    upcoming October Presidential election. Think about that for a minute.
    This country has gone from darkness to light because of freedom, and
    America and the world are better for it.
        In Iraq, we have got a plan to win this war against the terrorists.
    First of all, we've got an ally in the war and a strong leader in Prime
    Minister Allawi. Secondly, there will be
    national elections in January of 2005. We're continuing our
    reconstruction efforts over the next months to help rebuild that
    country. We'll continue to work with our allies and friends. There will
    be a donors summit in Japan next month. There will be a regional
    conference of neighbor--of countries in the neighborhood to work with
    Iraq. We will continue to train the Iraqis so they will do the hard work
    of defending their country against those who want to stop the advance of
    freedom. That is our strategy. We'll implement it as quickly as
    possible. We'll get this country on the road to stability and democracy,
    and then our troops will come home with the honor they have earned.
        I am proud of our United States military, and I want to thank the
    veterans who are here for having set such a great example.
        I believe in the transformational power of liberty. The other night,
    I said, ``I am realistic about what's taking place in Iraq. I understand
    how hard it is. I'm optimistic we will succeed.'' I'm optimistic we'll
    succeed, and one of the main reasons why is because I do believe in the
    transformational power of liberty.
        I'll tell you what I mean by that. Perhaps the best way to explain
    that to you is using this example. One of the leaders I enjoy meeting
    with is Prime Minister Koizumi of Japan--
    interesting fellow. I told him in New York when I saw him, I said, ``Do
    you mind if I tell the people in my country that we've got a good
    relationship?'' He said, ``Fine.'' I didn't tell him I was going to tell
    you that his favorite singer was Elvis--[laughter]--interesting man and
    a friend.

    [[Page 2322]]

        Think about this, though, that I sit down and talk to this leader of
    Japan some 60 years after our Nation was
    at war with them. Sixty years isn't very long in the march of history.
    It's long if you're 58 years old. [Laughter] But I want you to think
    about that for a minute. My dad, your dads,
    your granddads fought against the Japanese, and yet today, I now sit
    down at the table with the Prime Minister.
        See, fortunately, Harry Truman and other citizens of the country
    believed in the transformational power of liberty, that liberty could
    transform an enemy into an ally. And because they overwhelmed the
    skeptics and the doubters, I now sit at the table with a leader of a
    former foe talking about the peace we all want. Someday, an American
    President will be sitting down with a duly elected leader of Iraq,
    talking about keeping the peace. And our children and our grandchildren
    will be better off for it.
        I believe millions in the Middle East plead in silence for their
    liberty. I believe women in the Middle East want to be free to realize
    their dreams, and they can raise their children in hopeful societies. I
    believe that if given the chance, people in the Middle East will embrace
    the most honorable form of government ever devised by man, democracy. I
    believe all these things because freedom is not America's gift to the
    world; freedom is the Almighty God's gift to each man and woman in this
    world.
        This young century will be liberty's century. By promoting freedom
    at home and abroad, we'll build a safer world and a more hopeful
    America. By reforming our systems of Government, we will help more
    Americans realize their dreams. We'll spread ownership and opportunity
    to every corner of this country. We'll pass the enduring values of our
    country to a new generation. We will continue to make the world more
    peaceful and more free.
        For Americans--for all Americans, these years in our history will
    always stand apart. There are quiet times in the life a nation when
    little is expected of its leaders. This isn't one of those times. This
    is a time when we need firm resolve, clear vision, and a deep faith in
    the values that makes this a great nation.
        None of us will ever forget that week when one era ended and another
    began. On September the 14th, 2001, I stood in the ruins of the Twin
    Towers. It's a day I'll never forget. The memories are vividly etched in
    my mind. There were workers in hardhats yelling at the top of their
    lungs, ``Whatever it takes.'' I remember working the line, trying to
    comfort people coming out of that rubble, and a guy grabbed me by the
    arm, and he said, ``Do not let me down.'' Ever since that day, that
    fateful day, I've woken up doing whatever I can to protect this country.
    I will never relent in defending you, whatever it takes.
        Four years ago as I had the honor of traveling your State, I made
    this pledge, I said if you gave me the chance to serve, I would uphold
    the honor and the dignity of the office. With your hard work, with your
    help, I will do so for 4 more years.
        May God bless you, and may God bless our great country. Thanks for
    coming. Thank you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 3:58 p.m. at the McIntyre Ski Area. In his
    remarks, he referred to Gov. Craig Benson of New Hampshire; New
    Hampshire State Senator Theodore L. Gatsas and his wife, Cassandra;
    Massachusetts State Representative Brian Paul Golden; entertainers the
    Oak Ridge Boys; senior Al Qaida associate Abu Musab Al Zarqawi; Prime
    Minister Ayad Allawi of the Iraqi Interim Government; and Prime Minister
    Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.

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